Kent State volleyball defended its home floor this weekend with wins over Toledo and Ball State.

On Friday night, the Flashes won a five-setter at the M.A.C Center. Coming into the match, Toledo was 0-6 conference record.

Kent rallied from a nine-point deficit in the first set to win 25-22. Kent dropped the second and the third set respectively, but rallied to win the match in five sets. As a team, the Flashes hit .236.

“We’re really happy with how the kids have been competing, executing and making good decisions overall,” coach Don Gomala said. 

Kent hit .236 in the match, with 16 kills coming from freshman Morgan Copley. Senior Ashley Makruski followed up her performance with 14 kills. Senior Myla King led the way with six blocks for Kent State’s defense.

Redshirt sophomore Alex Haffner had a match-leading 50 assists for the Flashes on Friday night.

On Saturday afternoon, Kent swept Ball State. 

During Saturday’s match, sophomore Erin Gardner reached 1,000 career digs in just 189 sets. Gardner became the fastest player to achieve this milestone in Kent State volleyball program history. She had 10 digs in the match.

The Flashes won the first set 25-17 before winning the second set in a closer 25-22 win. The Flashes were able to put away Ball State in the third set, winning 25-19. 

Copley had 15 kills in the match. Haffner had 36 of Kent’s 43 total assists. As a team, the Flashes hit .293. 

“Alex put our hitters in good positions all weekend,” Gromala said of his sophomore’s weekend.

Kent improved to a 3-5 conference record.

Over the next three weekends, the Flashes will play five matches on the roads. 

Next Friday, the team will travel to play Northern Illinois.

Contact Nicholas Pedone at [email protected].